Microbial community in the root and rhizosphere of sugarcane

In order to investigate microbes specifically recruited from soil and enriched in the roots of commercial sugarcane variety ROC22, seedlings were propagated to the four leaf stage in tissue cultures prior to transferring to rooting medium for another two weeks. Transplanted sugarcane seedlings were then acclimatized for another two weeks to growth in liquid plant nutrition solution prior to transplanting into soils collected from a sugarcane farm managed by the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. Before planting, soils were filtered to remove larger residues, mixed well with equal volumes of sterile vermiculite, which was heated at 121 degree celsius for 40 min before use. Sugarcane seedlings were planted one seedling per pot (10 * 10 * 15 cm) in the soil mix described above. A total of 16 pots of sugarcane seedlings were reared in a growth chamber (day/night: 14 h/10 h, 26 degree celsius/24 degree celsius) under 37.5 uEm-2s-1 of daylight light intensity for three months before harvesting samples. During plant growth, liquid plant nutrient solution was supplied according to plant needs.